NBA free agency: Dallas wants Harrison Barnes
Biyombo heading to Orlando; Horford to Celtics
Here's a roundup of the major deals struck in the second day of NBA free agency, which opened Friday at midnight.
Players can not officially sign until July 7, when the league's off-season moratorium on player movement expires.
All dollar figures are U.S.
Harrison Barnes to Dallas?
Two people with knowledge of the plans say the Dallas Mavericks have informed representatives of Golden State's Harrison Barnes that they intend to sign the restricted free agent to an offer sheet for a four-year, $95 million contract.
The people spoke Saturday to The Associated Press about the potential maximum contract because no deals can be signed before July 7. The Warriors can match any deal for Barnes and are more likely to do so if they don't get an agreement with Kevin Durant.
Barnes was the fourth-leading scorer behind Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green for the 73-win Warriors, who lost to Cleveland in the NBA Finals. The 6-foot-8 forward is a potential replacement for Chandler Parsons, who has agreed to sign with Memphis. Dallas' plan was first reported by ESPN.
Horford shipping up to Boston
A person with knowledge of the situation tells The Associated Press that prized free agent Al Horford has agreed to terms on a four-year, $113 million deal with the Boston Celtics.
Horford made his decision on Saturday evening after spending most of the first two days meeting with the Wizards, Celtics and the Atlanta Hawks, the team that drafted him. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract cannot be signed until July 7.
Horford, however, made it clear with a simple tweet:
Celtic Pride!!!!!! 🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀
—@Al_HorfordHorford spent his first nine seasons in Atlanta, but the Hawks agreed to terms with Dwight Howard and Kent Bazemore on big-money deals, leaving them little room for their centrepiece. Atlanta could have made a trade or two to create enough room to keep him as well, but by Saturday Horford was already starting to look elsewhere.
Biyombo headed to Magic
Bismack Biyombo is on his way to Orlando to form a menacing new frontcourt with Serge Ibaka.
The Magic and Biyombo agreed to a four-year, $72 million deal Saturday, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because a contract cannot be signed until Thursday.
Biyombo is coming off a breakout year in Toronto. His numbers don't jump off the page — 5.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.6 blocks in a bench role — but he started to show more of the athleticism, toughness and shot-blocking instincts that caused him to rocket up the draft board five years ago.
Biyombo was the seventh overall pick in 2011, acquired by Charlotte in a draft-night deal with Sacramento. But he never was able to make a true impact in four years there, and some started to label him a bust.
In this year's playoffs, however, he was superb, helping the Raptors finally get out of the first round and advance to the Eastern Conference finals.
When Jonas Valanciunas was injured against Miami in the conference semifinals, Biyombo started and was a force. He had 17 points and 16 rebounds in Toronto's Game 7 victory. He followed that with 26 rebounds and four blocks in a Game 3 victory over Cleveland in the conference finals. He also had 14 boards and three blocks in Game 4.
Toronto general manager Masai Ujiri and coach Dwane Casey were holding out hope that Biyombo might take a discount to remain with the Raptors after they helped him get his career on track. But with big money already committed to DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry, DeMarre Carroll and Valanciunas, they were fully expecting Biyombo to price himself out of Toronto.
Orlando acquired Serge Ibaka from Oklahoma City in a draft-night trade. He will play on one side of Biyombo, with promising small forward Aaron Gordon on the other.
It remains to be seen what the Magic do with incumbent centre Nikola Vucevic, one of the better offensive centres in the game over his five years in the league. He averaged 18.2 points and 8.9 rebounds last season.
The Magic could keep Vucevic to give them a productive three-man rotation with Biyombo and Ibaka. Or they could try to trade him, continuing the makeover under general manager Rob Hennigan in a bid to better suit the roster to the style of new coach Frank Vogel.
It's been a busy off-season for the Magic. They have retained swingman Evan Fournier, added free agents Jeff Green and D.J. Augustin, traded for Ibaka and brought in Vogel after coach Scott Skiles' abrupt resignation.
They have not been to the playoffs since 2012. Mixing defensive-minded veterans with a group of younger players like Gordon, Fournier and Elfrid Payton could change that.
Mahinmi bolsters Wizards at centre
With no roster depth at center, the Washington Wizards agreed Saturday to pay Ian Mahinmi $64 million over four years, according to a person familiar with the deal.
Mahinmi's Twitter account had a message directed at the Wizards' account:
<a href="https://twitter.com/WashWizards">@WashWizards</a> let's gooooo 💪🏾!!!!!!🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
—@ianmahinmiThe Washington Post first reported the terms of the contract.
Mahinmi should be able to provide defense and rebounding for the Wizards. He is a 6-foot-11, 250-pound center who averaged career highs of 9.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists and about 25 minutes in 71 games, all starts, for the Indiana Pacers last season.
The 29-year-old Mahinmi, who is from France, was drafted in the first round by the San Antonio Spurs in 2005 and made his NBA debut in the 2007-08 season. For his career, he has averaged 5.1 points and 4.3 rebounds in less than 17 minutes.
Mahinmi is the first new player added to the Wizards since the start of free agency, although they did agree Friday to a $128 million, five-year contract that will keep shooting guard Bradley Beal with the team. Beal, who teams with John Wall to give Washington a dynamic backcourt, was a restricted free agent.
Last season, the Wizards went 41-41 to finish 10th in the Eastern Conference and miss the playoffs, following two consecutive trips to the second round. Randy Wittman was fired as coach and replaced by Scott Brooks.
Lakers add leadership with Deng
A person with knowledge of the situation tells The Associated Press that the Los Angeles Lakers have agreed to terms with veteran forward Luol Deng on a four-year contract worth $72 million US.
The two sides came to agreement early Saturday morning.
The 31-year-old Deng averaged 12.3 points and 6.0 rebounds for Miami last season. He has spent the last two years with the Heat.
He is a hard-nosed, defensive forward who can play multiple positions and provide solid offence. His leadership should be key for a young Lakers team that at times struggled with maturity last season.
Courtney Lee headed to Knicks
Courtney Lee has accepted a four-year contract offer worth about $50 million from the New York Knicks, a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Lee becomes the third significant player addition so far in this off-season by the Knicks, who also have a new coach in Jeff Hornacek. New York traded for Derrick Rose late last month, then got Rose's former Chicago teammate, Joakim Noah, to agree to a $72 million, four-year deal on Friday.
Leuer agrees to deal with Pistons
The Detroit Pistons and free-agent forward Jon Leuer have agreed on a four-year, $42 million contract.
Leuer's agency, Priority Sports headed by Mark Bartelstein, announced the deal Saturday. His addition gives coach Stan Van Gundy another versatile, hard-working forward to bring off the bench.
Leuer averaged 8.5 points and 5.6 rebounds for the Phoenix Suns last season, his fifth in the league. He has also played for Memphis, Cleveland and Milwaukee.
The Pistons already have agreed on a five-year max contract with Andre Dummond and added backup point guard Ish Smith in the first two days of free agency. The contracts cannot be signed until Thursday.
Veteran Afflalo to help steady Kings
A person with knowledge of the situation tells The Associated Press that the Sacramento Kings have agreed to terms with veteran guard Arron Afflalo on a two-year deal worth $25 million.
The Kings and Afflalo reached agreement on Saturday.
Afflalo averaged 12.8 points and shot 38 percent on 3-pointers for the New York Knicks last season, his ninth in the NBA.
He brings a steady veteran presence and strong leadership to a team that has been embroiled in chaos in recent seasons.
The Kings have been looking for reliable shooters to surround star center DeMarcus Cousins. Afflalo also brings a presence on defense. Yahoo Sports first reported the agreement.
Hornets to re-sign Marvin Williams
A person with knowledge of the situation tells The Associated Press that the Charlotte Hornets have agreed to terms with veteran forward Marvin Williams on a four-year deal worth $54 million.
The Hornets and Williams agreed to the deal on Saturday.
The 30-year-old Williams averaged 11.7 points and 6.4 rebounds for the Hornets last season while shooting a career-best 40.2 percent from 3-point range.
Williams brings a steady veteran presence to a Hornets team that tied for the third-best record in the Eastern Conference last season, but has lost Jeremy Lin and Al Jefferson in free agency. Williams has spent the past two seasons with the Hornets.